History & Mission

A challenge and an opportunity faced Guelph and Wellington County in the 1990s. As the population grew, the needs and services required to support our thriving urban and rural communities also grew. Minor sports teams were multiplying, arts and culture organizations were establishing or expanding, social services and health needs were increasing; it was clear that the nonprofit and charitable sector had a critical role to play and needed more people power – more volunteers!

What could we do to support nonprofits and charities in Guelph and Wellington County? How could we inspire our residents to contribute to creating awesome communities?

Inspired by the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer in 2001, nonprofits, charities, the local government and funders expressed the need to develop a Volunteer Centre in Guelph and Wellington. From there a small group of dedicated and innovative leaders set out to establish the new organization that would engage volunteers and support nonprofits and charities to better utilize and manage them.

It has been over a decade since we formed, and we have grown to incorporate new services to respond to the needs of residents in Guelph and Wellington. In 2004, we took over management of our local community information centre and launched Community Information Guelph. This program helps people find information about essential human services. In 2009, we launched the Snow Angels program to help Guelph citizens who were in need of volunteer snow shovelling.

Our vision is that everyone engages in building a vibrant, healthy, resilient community. We believe that every member of our community has both an opportunity and the ability to build the community in which they live, work and play in a way that is meaningful to them.

Our mission is to provide resources and leadership to enable the development of people and organizations. We believe that if we were 100% successful in our activities, everyone would know how to get involved in building our community and would have the resources, skills and support to do so. We believe that when people and organizations are supported and strengthened, amazing things happen.

Our values

We encourage a culture of giving.

We value everyone’s participation in our community because we believe our communities are stronger when people contribute their time and unique abilities. We also believe everyone has something to offer and we foster this culture within our organization and within the community.

We do what we think is right.

We expect integrity and transparency within our staff and volunteers and our organization. We believe good governance is the foundation of healthy organizations and we apply this to our own organization. We embrace best practices. We take the initiative to advocate for our vision, our mission, our constituencies and our stakeholders. We deliver high quality service to the best of our ability.

We believe being inclusive strengthens our community.

We are proactive in encouraging equity, diversity and inclusiveness by being accessible, respectful and welcoming at all times. We foster this approach in all that we do. We believe that people and organizations working together to collaborate contributes to a resilient community. We will encourage, promote and participate in activities that promote inclusiveness.

We embody a culture of continuous learning.

We are a learning organization. We know our communities are ever changing and growing and are flexible and open to embracing opportunities and meeting challenges as they arise. We are resourceful, responsive, dynamic, adaptive and reflective. We ensure our activities are outcome oriented and align with our vision and mission.

Offering A Living Wage

We recognize that paying a living wage constitutes a critical investment in the long-term prosperity of the economy by fostering a dedicated, skilled and healthy workforce. In 2016, we signed on as an early adopter of the Guelph & Wellington Living Wage. You can find out more about this local initiative run by the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination at their website.

Donate to PIN

One “unsung” contribution of the People and Information Network (PIN) is the community information they provide for people looking for essential services and supports. Frequently, citizens don’t know how to navigate the twists and turns of the many agencies providing everything and anything from housing and food assistance, child or elder care, or advice on managing household finances or assistance with a disabled child. This information is always at our fingertips and up to date, thanks to the PIN.